Page 82 of Please Don't Leave Me

“Lou, I want you to find a bouncer and stay put. Please. I’m going to come get you, okay? Can you tell me the name of the club you’re at?”

I quickly put my shoes on, grab my keys, and head out the door. I would just call B, but I don’t have her number. And I’m not sure Lou is capable of giving me her number at the moment.

“Excuse me, sir, my friend said to find you and stay put.”

There’s rustling on the otherend.

“Are you looking for a very intoxicated brunette?” It’s a man’s voice.

“Yes, can you tell me what club she’s at? And can you please watch her until I get there? I’m on my way there right now.”

“Yeah, but hurry, the club closes in an hour.” He tells me the name of the club, and I punch it into my GPS. I think I know how to get there without it, but I’m not risking taking a wrong exit and delaying my arrival by any amount of time.

It eases my mind to know that a bouncer is watching her. But that’s not his job, so who knows how committed he’ll be if she tries to bolt.

Fifteen minutes later,I’m getting out of my car and headed for the elevator in the parking ramp. GPS said it was supposed to take 25 minutes, but I sped the whole way here, within reason, of course.

I get to the street level and jog down the block until I see the neon sign for the club. I get inside and talk to the first worker I see. They don’t seem to know what I’m talking about, and I start to get nervous. Then I spot her. She’s sitting on the floor, against the wall, with her head hanging down. Next to her stands a large man in a security shirt. I pay the cover charge and run over to them.

When I get there, I kneel down and lift her chin up so she’s looking at me. “Hey, I’m here.”

“Heeeey yooooou.” She smiles, but her eyes are blank.

I look up at the bouncer. “Thank you for watching her. I really appreciate it.”

“No problem, man. I have a little sister, too.”

Well. Nope, I’m not going to correct him. It’s better for him to think I’m her brother. Otherwise, he might get leery and not let me take her with me. I nod and smile.

“Come on, Lou, let’s get you home.”

“But what about my friends?”

“We can text them from your phone when we get to the car. You need to go home.”

She sighs but stands when I grab her hands and help her up. I put one of her arms around my waist and grab her heels out of her other hand. She leans into me, resting her head on my chest, and wraps her other arm around me.

She’s basically dead weight, but I don’t feel comfortable carrying her in public with how short her dress is, so this will have to do.

It takes us a while to get back to the car, but we eventually make it. The first thing I do is grab her phone and have her unlock it. There are 12 missed calls from B and several other texts and missed calls from people I don’t know.

Without looking at her messages, I start texting B, letting her know that it’s Sam and that I’m taking her home. I text her my number so she can call me if she wants.

B

Omg, thank you! We’ve been looking for her!

Lou (Sam texting)

Do you want me to wait and give you a ride home as well?

B

No, you should get her home. It’ll take me a while to wrangle all our friends and get everyone to close their tabs.

Lou (Sam texting)

Okay. I'll let you know when she's home safe.

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